Mario Krenn

Quantum Entanglement of High Angular Momenta

Twist and Entangle Entanglement is a key feature in quantum information science and plays an important role in various applications of quantum mechanics. Fickler et al. (p. 640) present a method for converting the polarization state of photons into information encoded into spatial modes of a single photon. From this, superposition states and entangled photons with very high orbital angular momentum quantum numbers were generated. A method to entangle photons with very-high–orbital angular momentum quantum numbers advances quantum information science. Single photons with helical phase structures may carry a quantized amount of orbital angular momentum (OAM), and their entanglement is important for quantum information science and fundamental tests of quantum theory. Because there is no theoretical upper limit on how many quanta of OAM a single photon can carry, it is possible to create entanglement between two particles with an arbitrarily high difference in quantum number. By transferring polarization entanglement to OAM with an interferometric scheme, we generate and verify entanglement between two photons differing by 600 in quantum number. The only restrictive factors toward higher numbers are current technical limitations. We also experimentally demonstrate that the entanglement of very high OAM can improve the sensitivity of angular resolution in remote sensing.

Communication with spatially modulated light through turbulent air across Vienna

Transverse spatial modes of light offer a large state-space with interesting physical properties. For exploiting these special modes in future long-distance experiments, the modes will have to be transmitted over turbulent free-space links. Numerous recent lab-scale experiments have found significant degradation in the mode quality after transmission through simulated turbulence and consecutive coherent detection. Here, we experimentally analyze the transmission of one prominent class of spatial modes?orbital-angular momentum (OAM) modes?through 3 km of strong turbulence over the city of Vienna. Instead of performing a coherent phase-dependent measurement, we employ an incoherent detection scheme, which relies on the unambiguous intensity patterns of the different spatial modes. We use a pattern recognition algorithm (an artificial neural network) to identify the characteristic mode patterns displayed on a screen at the receiver. We were able to distinguish between 16 different OAM mode superpositions with only a ?1.7% error rate and to use them to encode and transmit small grayscale images. Moreover, we found that the relative phase of the superposition modes is not affected by the atmosphere, establishing the feasibility for performing long-distance quantum experiments with the OAM of photons. Our detection method works for other classes of spatial modes with unambiguous intensity patterns as well, and can be further improved by modern techniques of pattern recognition.

Generation and confirmation of a (100 x 100)-dimensional entangled quantum system.

Significance Quantum entanglement is one of the key features of quantum mechanics. Quantum systems are the basis of new paradigms in quantum computation, quantum cryptography, or quantum teleportation. By increasing the size of the entangled quantum system, a wider variety of fundamental tests as well as more realistic applications can be performed. The size of the entangled quantum state can increase with the number of particles or, as in the present paper, with the number of involved dimensions. We explore a quantum system that consists of two photons which are 100-dimensionally entangled. The dimensions investigated are the different spatial modes of photons. The result may have potential applications in quantum cryptography and other quantum information tasks. Entangled quantum systems have properties that have fundamentally overthrown the classical worldview. Increasing the complexity of entangled states by expanding their dimensionality allows the implementation of novel fundamental tests of nature, and moreover also enables genuinely new protocols for quantum information processing. Here we present the creation of a (100 × 100)-dimensional entangled quantum system, using spatial modes of photons. For its verification we develop a novel nonlinear criterion which infers entanglement dimensionality of a global state by using only information about its subspace correlations. This allows very practical experimental implementation as well as highly efficient extraction of entanglement dimensionality information. Applications in quantum cryptography and other protocols are very promising.

Real-Time Imaging of Quantum Entanglement

Quantum Entanglement is widely regarded as one of the most prominent features of quantum mechanics and quantum information science. Although, photonic entanglement is routinely studied in many experiments nowadays, its signature has been out of the grasp for real-time imaging. Here we show that modern technology, namely triggered intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) cameras are fast and sensitive enough to image in real-time the effect of the measurement of one photon on its entangled partner. To quantitatively verify the non-classicality of the measurements we determine the detected photon number and error margin from the registered intensity image within a certain region. Additionally, the use of the ICCD camera allows us to demonstrate the high flexibility of the setup in creating any desired spatial-mode entanglement, which suggests as well that visual imaging in quantum optics not only provides a better intuitive understanding of entanglement but will improve applications of quantum science.

Twisted light transmission over 143 km

Significance Light is the main carrier of information. Its spatial mode allows the encoding of more than 1 bit per photon, and thus can increase the information capacity. For communication purposes, these modes need to be transmitted over large distances. Nowadays, fiber-based solutions are in their infancy, which renders free-space transmission the only possibility. We present an experiment where we investigate the behavior of the spatial modes after a distance of 143 km. With the help of an artificial neural network, we distinguished different mode superpositions up to the third order with more than 80% accuracy. Our results indicate that with state-of-the-art adaptive optics systems, both classical communication and entanglement transmission is feasible over distances of more than 100 km. Spatial modes of light can potentially carry a vast amount of information, making them promising candidates for both classical and quantum communication. However, the distribution of such modes over large distances remains difficult. Intermodal coupling complicates their use with common fibers, whereas free-space transmission is thought to be strongly influenced by atmospheric turbulence. Here, we show the transmission of orbital angular momentum modes of light over a distance of 143 km between two Canary Islands, which is 50× greater than the maximum distance achieved previously. As a demonstration of the transmission quality, we use superpositions of these modes to encode a short message. At the receiver, an artificial neural network is used for distinguishing between the different twisted light superpositions. The algorithm is able to identify different mode superpositions with an accuracy of more than 80% up to the third mode order and decode the transmitted message with an error rate of 8.33%. Using our data, we estimate that the distribution of orbital angular momentum entanglement over more than 100 km of free space is feasible. Moreover, the quality of our free-space link can be further improved by the use of state-of-the-art adaptive optics systems.

Multi-photon entanglement in high dimensions

A three-photon entangled state with 3 × 3 × 2 dimensions of its orbital angular momentum is created by using two independent entangled photon pairs from two nonlinear crystals, enabling the development of a new layered quantum communication protocol. Forming the backbone of quantum technologies today, entanglement1,2 has been demonstrated in physical systems as diverse as photons3, ions4 and superconducting circuits5. Although steadily pushing the boundary of the number of particles entangled, these experiments have remained in a two-dimensional space for each particle. Here we show the experimental generation of the first multi-photon entangled state where both the number of particles and dimensions are greater than two. Two photons in our state reside in a three-dimensional space, whereas the third lives in two dimensions. This asymmetric entanglement structure6 only appears in multiparticle entangled states with d > 26. Our method relies on combining two pairs of photons, high-dimensionally entangled in their orbital angular momentum7. In addition, we show how this state enables a new type of ‘layered’ quantum communication protocol. Entangled states such as these serve as a manifestation of the complex dance of correlations that can exist within quantum mechanics.

Twisted photon entanglement through turbulent air across Vienna

Significance The spatial structure of photons provides access to a very large state space. It enables the encoding of more information per photon, useful for (quantum) communication with large alphabets and fundamental studies of high-dimensional entanglement. However, the question of the distribution of such photons has not been settled yet, as they are significantly influenced by atmospheric turbulence in free-space transmissions. In the present paper we show that it is possible to distribute quantum entanglement of spatially structured photons over a free-space intracity link. We demonstrate the access to four orthogonal quantum channels in which entanglement can be distributed over large distances. Furthermore, already available technology could provide access to even larger quantum state spaces. Photons with a twisted phase front can carry a discrete, in principle, unbounded amount of orbital angular momentum (OAM). The large state space allows for complex types of entanglement, interesting both for quantum communication and for fundamental tests of quantum theory. However, the distribution of such entangled states over large distances was thought to be infeasible due to influence of atmospheric turbulence, indicating a serious limitation on their usefulness. Here we show that it is possible to distribute quantum entanglement encoded in OAM over a turbulent intracity link of 3 km. We confirm quantum entanglement of the first two higher-order levels (with OAM=± 1ℏ and ± 2ℏ). They correspond to four additional quantum channels orthogonal to all that have been used in long-distance quantum experiments so far. Therefore, a promising application would be quantum communication with a large alphabet. We also demonstrate that our link allows access to up to 11 quantum channels of OAM. The restrictive factors toward higher numbers are technical limitations that can be circumvented with readily available technologies.

Automated Search for new Quantum Experiments

Quantum mechanics predicts a number of, at first sight, counterintuitive phenomena. It therefore remains a question whether our intuition is the best way to find new experiments. Here, we report the development of the computer algorithm Melvin which is able to find new experimental implementations for the creation and manipulation of complex quantum states. Indeed, the discovered experiments extensively use unfamiliar and asymmetric techniques which are challenging to understand intuitively. The results range from the first implementation of a high-dimensional Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state, to a vast variety of experiments for asymmetrically entangled quantum states-a feature that can only exist when both the number of involved parties and dimensions is larger than 2. Additionally, new types of high-dimensional transformations are found that perform cyclic operations. Melvin autonomously learns from solutions for simpler systems, which significantly speeds up the discovery rate of more complex experiments. The ability to automate the design of a quantum experiment can be applied to many quantum systems and allows the physical realization of quantum states previously thought of only on paper.

Entangled singularity patterns of photons in Ince-Gauss modes

Photons with complex spatial mode structures open up possibilities for new fundamental high-dimensional quantum experiments and for novel quantum information tasks. Here we show entanglement of photons with complex vortex and singularity patterns called Ince-Gauss modes. In these modes, the position and number of singularities vary depending on the mode parameters. We verify two-dimensional and three-dimensional entanglement of Ince-Gauss modes. By measuring one photon and thereby defining its singularity pattern, we nonlocally steer the singularity structure of its entangled partner, while the initial singularity structure of the photons is undefined. In addition we measure an Ince-Gauss specific quantum-correlation function with possible use in future quantum communication protocols.

Orbital angular momentum of photons and the entanglement of Laguerre-Gaussian modes

The identification of orbital angular momentum (OAM) as a fundamental property of a beam of light nearly 25 years ago has led to an extensive body of research around this topic. The possibility that single photons can carry OAM has made this degree of freedom an ideal candidate for the investigation of complex quantum phenomena and their applications. Research in this direction has ranged from experiments on complex forms of quantum entanglement to the interaction between light and quantum states of matter. Furthermore, the use of OAM in quantum information has generated a lot of excitement, as it allows for encoding large amounts of information on a single photon. Here, we explain the intuition that led to the first quantum experiment with OAM 15 years ago. We continue by reviewing some key experiments investigating fundamental questions on photonic OAM and the first steps to applying these properties in novel quantum protocols. At the end, we identify several interesting open questions that could form the subject of future investigations with OAM. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Optical orbital angular momentum’.